Movies: Past, present and future

'The Artist' to get re-release over Mother's Day weekend

May 7, 2012 | 1:00pm

Good news for those moviegoers whose ears are still ringing from all the noise of "The Avengers": "The Artist" is making its way back to theaters this weekend.

That's right -- less than three months after the almost entirely silent black-and-white film was named best picture at the Academy Awards in February, the movie is returning to the multiplex for a limited engagement. The Weinstein Co. said Monday that it would re-release the movie over Mother's Day weekend, calling it "the perfect family outing" for the holiday.

While that may be marketing spin, the gambit actually could pay off this weekend, when mothers typically get to choose which movie the family goes to see in theaters. With "The Avengers" and the new Johnny Depp-Tim Burton team-up "Dark Shadows" competing for the attention of young males, "The Artist" may prove to be a popular choice with older women.

Although "The Artist" was a critical success, also scooping up Oscars for lead actor and director, it wasn't a massive hit at the box office. After its domestic release in November, the film went on to gross $44.2 million in the U.S.